Page 47 of The Best Man Wins

Fixing the pot of tea helps. It takes a minute to turn water into steam, which gives me time to cool down. Calm, collect, and reassess. Put my armor back on before I go out there so I can withstand the assault of her sweet eyes and needy kisses.

I fix her an Earl Grey and pour the tea into one of the Dalton family’s many novelty mugs. This mug has a cat popping out of the cup, and the cat’s tail curls into the handle. I picked it because it seems like something Susie would like.

When I walk back into the living room with Susie’s tea and her nauseatingly cute mug, however, she’s nowhere to be seen.

At first, I think she must’ve put herself to bed, until—

Out the window, I see a flicker of movement. I squint. It can’t be…

No. Definitely is.

The piece-of-shit barn is finally falling apart. The balcony has half-collapsed, the railing snapped. And…there’s Susie. Hanging from the second-story balcony, clinging desperately to what’s left of the railing, her legs flailing.

Goddammit, Susie.

The novelty cat mug hits the floor. Immediately, I run outside. I dash from the main house to the barn, where Susie dangles like a fish on a hook. The yawning barn doors are open, and I run inside. It smells like animal inside, thick and musty. I find the stairs and scale them to the hayloft. The wood creaks with every step—no doubt moldy, ready to snap—and I nearly trip on the hay-laden floor.

Finally, I’ve reached the balcony. There’s a long string of lights connected to an outlet at the top. The lights snake around the floor and out the open door. I follow them and lean around the door, careful not to step on the balcony itself. I’m not sure it’ll be able to hold my added weight.

“Susie!” I call out her name to get her attention. Her eyes snap to me—those sharp greens, flickering in the dim moonlight like sea glass.

She’s okay. But maybe not for long. My heart pounds in my chest, and I reach out toward her. I can almost reach her, but not quite. “Can you take my hand?”

She hesitates. Her eyes flicker from me to something flying in the wind. My eyes catch on it. A string of lights flutters in the wind, half strung up on the balcony.

You have to be kidding me.

“Leave the lights,” I tell her. There’s no wiggle room in my tone. She’s getting out of this alive—whether she wants to or not.

I can see her waver. She has to be the most stubborn woman I’ve ever met. “I think I can reach it—”

I give her an ultimatum. “Do you want the lights, or do you want to live?”

I see the reluctance in her eyes. Finally, she peels herself away from the string of lights long enough to grab my hand.

I have her. I have her and I won’t let go. I pull her toward me and she stumbles, launching into my arms. She’s cold and shaking but safe, and that’s all that matters.

“What the hell were you thinking?” I snap. Adrenaline is still rushing through my veins, white-hot, and I can’t turn it off.

She looks like she might cry. “I wanted to do something nice… I thought if Cora and Ray saw it, maybe they’d get excited about the wedding again…”

“Fuck the wedding.” I move my hands to her shoulders. I need her to hear him. Those green eyes go wide and meet mine. “Nothing is more important than your safety. Nothing. You…” My voice cracks. Something has broken inside my chest, and I can’t stop the words from pouring out. “You’re important to me. You scared the hell out of me.”

Those eyes don’t leave mine. She reaches out and her fingertips touch my lips curiously and then follow my jaw. “You’re important to me too,” she says. Her voice is soft, a whisper.

I can’t stop myself. I don’t want to stop. I take her in my arms.

I hold her face—safe.

I feel her breath patter rapidly against my cheek—alive.

I claim her lips with mine—precious.

Savor this woman, Braxton. Don’t lose her.

I kiss her with a softness I didn’t know I was capable of. Gently, slowly, I taste her tongue with mine, and I feel her moan vibrate through my entire being.

She’s small against my body, and her fingers clench at my shirt.

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